Ever since pedal pubs came up at a meeting of the Green Bay City Council’s protection and welfare committee earlier this month, Will Liebergen has been getting a lot of feedback.

Some positive. Some negative. But make no mistake, people are definitely talking about it.

Liebergen, who has owned Keggers bar at 231 N. Broadway for nine years and opened adjoining live music venue the Lyric Room three years ago, is the businessman who wants to bring one to town. Sure, it’s another way grow his business, but he said it’s about something more than that.

“I see this pedal pub as another amenity to keep Green Bay not boring,” he said. “Not that good ol’ statement of ‘Oh, Green Bay is so boring, because we don’t have anything to do here.’”

Pedal pubs — or quadracycles, as Liebergen prefers — are already popular in larger cities like Milwaukee, Madison and Minneapolis. They’ve been called everything from “rolling minibars” to “party bikes.” What they are is an open-air, four-wheeled vehicle powered by 10 passengers who pedal and have the option of drinking alcohol while they travel from one destination to another. And yes, the destinations are often bars, which, as you might guess, is where all that discussion comes in.

I sat down with Liebergen and had him take me for a tutorial spin on just how this whole pedal pub thing would work.

It has room for 10 riders (five on each side). A bench across the back allows for three “sitters,” people who can’t pedal or are taking a break from pedaling. An event host is in the middle.

“I see this pedal pub as another amenity to keep Green Bay not boring.”

Will Liebergen, owner of Keggers bar

It’s steered by a driver employed by Keggers. That person would be held to the same standards as a bartender, Liebergen said.

“We’re going to have drivers that are trained and capable of saying the word ‘no’ to people,” he said.

Riders sign up in advance online and can reserve the entire quadracycle for something like a bachelor, bachelorette or birthday party, or there will be “mixers,” in which people fill a tour up in pairs. Cost will be $25 to $30 a person.

Patrons will have the option of tours with or without alcohol. Liebergen estimates half of the tours would be alcohol-free.

Tours with alcohol would require all passengers to be 21 or older. Riders will be limited to 36 ounces of alcohol that can be brought on board, and it must be purchased at Keggers, which will be the boarding site. No carry-ins or coolers.

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“It’s not an all-you-can-drink or all-you-can-bring situation,” Liebergen said.

For tours that include stops at bars, no alcohol will be allowed to be carried out from the establishments back on the quadracycle. No new passengers can be picked up along the way, and riders are not allowed to exit until the vehicle returns to Keggers at tour’s end.

“This is a thing where people are reserved on it. They’re signing releases. They’re accountable for their actions as well,” Liebergen said. “We’re going to encourage fun on them, but we’re going to have a set of rules. The same way I’ve operated my bar here for nine years. People are allowed to have fun, but we hold them to rules so that we stay ... in the community, rather than bothering the community.”

Keggers will have several predetermined routes downtown that people can choose from — North Broadway, South Broadway and Washington Street on the east side of the Fox River. Each ride lasts two to three hours, travels about 4 to 6 miles round trip and includes three or four stops. Themed tours could include things like stops at places that serve wings or a progressive dinner concept, Liebergen said.

“It’s not a small thing that people won’t notice. It’s not the size of a rickshaw.”

Will Liebergen, owner of Keggers bar

Seventy-five percent of the quadracycle’s travel will be on downtown streets.

“We want to stay out of the residential as much as possible, but Green Bay has a pretty small downtown,” he said. “We don’t have this grand, expansive downtown without residential.”

Music will come from a small iPod-playing device and speakers. “It will be quieter than your ice cream truck,” he said.

The pedal pub travels at 5 to 7 mph and is equipped with brake lights, headlights, a slow-moving vehicle sign and motor assist in case it becomes stranded or stalled and needs to motor itself out of traffic. Liebergen points out it will be operating in traffic considerably lighter than cities like Minneapolis and Milwaukee. With the exception of the bridges to cross the Fox River, it will travel on single-lane streets.

“They’re big. They’re the size of a car,” he said. “It’s not a small thing that people won’t notice. It’s not the size of a rickshaw.”

The pedal pub would operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from likely April through October, Liebergen said. He’s confident the popularity of it for a wide range of tours with passengers of all ages would quickly get it up to two or three tours daily.

A quadracycle comes with a hefty price tag — about $50,000 to $80,000, Liebergen said.

“This is an investment that I’m hoping to make in my business but also an investment I’m hoping to make in our community. I really want to continue to bring attractions and amenities to Green Bay that attract and retain our youth and our talented people,” he said.

“It’s about pride in our district and our downtown. I’ve bought into Broadway, and I’ve put everything I have in my own business for nine years, and it’s fun to keep business in our district and keep business in our downtown.”

Liebergen understands questions and concerns about bringing one to town. He’s been researching the project for two years and is continuing to learn.

“Putting this out there, there’s been a lot of positives. A lot of people excited about it. And then there’s been the people saying, ‘Hey, look out for these things.’ Things I haven’t thought about, and that’s been really encouraging, to understand their fears of them, so that I can better try to meet those needs and not have those issues,” he said. “It’s impossible to foresee every instance, however, we’re taking the criticisms and suggestions and trying to foresee them before they happen. That’s been encouraging, that a lot of the public has been talking about it.”